33. What can science tell us about neurodivergent brains?
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What insights do brain scans provide about ADHD and movement?
It's July 2022 and I'm about to enter a 3T GE MRI scanner.
It's as impressive as it sounds, basically a super powerful magnet, tens of thousands of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.
So that emergency bell will just sit on your tummy because you're going to be holding both of these controllers.
I was entering the scanner as part of a study exploring something deceptively simple, fidgeting, and how it might actually help the ADHD brain.
All right, any last minute little adjustments or anything? No, I think we're good. Perfect. We'll start moving in.
Inside the scanner, it is extremely noisy. Not a fun experience, but the study itself is huge, so the discomfort is worth it. Four years ago, when I lay in that scanner, the findings were in their early stages. Now, the results have the potential to make a real difference, not only to how we diagnose this neurotype, but to how society views those of us who are the daydreamers, the fidgeters, the interrupters, the complex but wonderful people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. If your child is neurodivergent, or if you are yourself, there's an overriding sense that people don't really take it seriously. No matter how great the challenges are, they are largely invisible and often unpredictable.
Even those who are diagnosed in adulthood as autistic or with ADHD can find it hard to accept and often suspect they've inadvertently gamed the system somehow. It's really hard to believe that it's not just a character flaw. But science is advancing quickly and we're reaching the stage where there are clinical tools to use alongside evaluations. Scientific research that is moving out of the lab and reaching real people to give them an understanding and to improve their outcomes. And Aotearoa New Zealand is leading the way. In this episode, I talk to two of the team from the Matai Medical Research Institute in Gisborne about their groundbreaking ADHD study and about what research is telling us in general about the biological basis of ADHD.
And I speak to Dr. Jessie Jacobson and Dr. Ruth Monk from the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland. Jessie and her team research the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, not to try and cure or change people, but to give clarity and ultimately to improve lives.
neurodiversity it's no longer a fringe conversation for decades neurodifferences have been framed as deficits but now we're questioning that narrative what if variation is part of the design in season three i look at the science the systems and the stories shaping what happens next and the tools that can really make a difference kia ora i'm sonia gray and this is no such thing as normal season three
The work they do at the Matai Medical Research Institute is diverse, in-depth, ground-breaking and life-changing. Studies on traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, the effects of meth addiction on the brain, and of course the ongoing research into how the ADHD brain works, with a goal to map an atlas of the ADHD brain.
It's amazing to work here because you kind of see things, you know, you're the first person in the world to see them. And then you get excited and you share it with everyone, like, you know, look at this.
Paul Condren was the MRI technician when I went into that very noisy but very flash fMRI machine. It's his job to capture incredibly detailed images of the brain. Mostly, the actual meaning of these scans comes later. Any changes on the structural side are not going to be obvious to the technician looking at the screen.
But the functional side, that's the exciting side because it gives you a snapshot of the brain, how it's operating at that particular moment. What we do at Matai with this study is this dynamic resting state, which allows us to get more samples in the same amount of time, but a lot more samples. So we get more data to look at.
And more data means you're not just seeing a single moment, you're starting to see what the brain is doing in real time.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What insights do brain scans provide about ADHD and movement?
0:00–12:18
2
Why do individuals with ADHD struggle to hold multiple ideas at once?
12:18–21:04
3
What scientific advancements are being made in autism research?
21:04–29:56
4
How can identifying genetic variants change lives for families?
29:56–35:35
5
What ethical considerations are important in autism research?
35:35–39:53